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Cranberries Little Help Against UTIs

Oct. 16, 2012 -- Drinking cranberry juice or taking cranberry pills may do little to prevent urinary tract infection (UTI), according to a new review of the latest research.

The review of 24 studies on cranberries and UTI shows that cranberry juice and cranberry pills are unlikely to prevent the common and often painful condition.

Previous studies suggested cranberries may curb UTIs. The new review shows that any benefit from cranberries in preventing UTIs is likely to be small and only among women with recurrent UTIs.

“There might be a slight effect with the juice, but it depends on whether someone is prepared to drink cranberry juice twice a day for months on end to perhaps prevent one UTI,” says researcher Ruth Jepson, PhD, of Scotland's University of Stirling.

Urinary tract infections are one of the most common reasons people, especially women, seek medical treatment. The infection is usually caused by bacteria that enters the bladder or kidneys from the urethra, the tube that carries urine from your bladder.

Symptoms of UTI include pain or burning during urination, lower abdominal pain in the bladder area, urgent and/or frequent need to urinate, and bloody or cloudy urine.

Treatment and prevention of UTI often consists of taking antibiotics, but the bacteria can grow resistant to these drugs.

Cranberry and UTI Controversy

Cranberries have been a common folk and alternative remedy for UTI for decades.

Cranberries have been widely studied for preventing urinary tract infections because they contain substances called proanthocyanidins that may prevent bacteria from sticking on the wall of the bladder, says Amy Howell, PhD, of Rutgers University’s Marucci Center for Blueberry Cranberry Research.

The new review, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, updates a 2008 review that concluded that cranberries may offer a small benefit in preventing UTIs in women.

Since then, another 14 studies on cranberry juice and pills have been published and added to their analysis.

Overall, the 24 studies involved 4,473 people and compared cranberry products to a placebo, no treatment, or alternative treatment in preventing urinary tract infection.